Logo del progetto Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR)

 

Press and media freedoms are increasingly at risk. After its first edition (March 2020-March 2021), the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) has been confirmed for the third year, this time covering a period of 18 months, from May 2022 till November 2023: it monitors violations in all EU Member States and Candidate Countries and documents them on the Mapping Media Freedom platform. 

Furthermore, the MFRR provides practical and direct support to journalists and media workers who are at risk due to their work through emergency funds, legal aid, training, and shelter programmes. MFRR partners also carry out advocacy missions and awareness-raising campaigns to secure a wider engagement in European civil society with issues related to press and media freedom.

Within the project, OBCT makes further use of its Resource Centre on Media Freedom to support evidence-informed policymaking and advocacy, and supports QCode Mag in managing the programme Journalists-in-Residence Milan.


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OBCT news on media and journalism

Bulgaria Minister urged to drop defamation lawsuit

| 24/4/2024

Media Freedom organizations call on Bulgarian Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov to withdraw charges against two investigative journalists of the Bureau for Investigative Reporting and Data (BIRD)

Petition against attacks on Domani newspaper, and for media freedom in Italy

| 23/4/2024

Over 70 international organisations and media, including the Media Freedom Rapid Response, signed a petition in support of three journalists from the daily newspaper Domani who risk up to nine years in prison. While the European Media Freedom Act promises to strengthen the protection of journalistic sources, in Italy investigative journalism risks being turned into a crime

Safety and justice: demanding accountability for attacks against journalists in Serbia

redazione | 11/4/2024

Media freedom advocates condemn 25 years of impunity for journalist Slavko Ćuruvija’s murder, shot in front of his home in Belgrade, and underscore the urgent need for authorities to act and protect press freedom in Serbia

Three years later: still no justice for murdered Greek journalist

| 9/4/2024

Media freedom advocates reissue call to end impunity on the third anniversary of Giorgos Karaivaz's murder

MEDIA FREEDOM Media in Albania, under the blows of power

Tirana | Erion Gjatolli | 3/4/2024

The recent angry attack by the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama against a journalist has brought the constant pressure and intimidation that the power in Albania exerts on the media and media professionals back under the spotlight

JOURNALISM Pulse, a new collaborative journalism project on European affairs

Redazione | 26/3/2024

Last week saw the presentation in Brussels of "PULSE. Europe beyond the beat", an ambitious project coordinated by OBCT aimed at making collaboration among European newsrooms a tool to harness the coverage of European affairs

Serbia: escalating threats and attacks against journalists in Novi Sad

| 21/3/2024

OBCT shares media freedom partner organisations' concerns on the the escalation of threats and violence suffered by journalists in Novi Sad, northern Serbia, and urges competent authorities to promptly investigate these cases

The MFRR network presents the Monitoring Report 2023

| 21/3/2024

The partners from the MFRR consortium published the latest edition of the Monitoring Report which documents press and media freedom violations from January to December 2023

As part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response project, OBCT organised on 17 October 2023 an international conference aimed at unpacking the nexus between rule of law, media and democracy.
Here you can find all the materials and video recordings of the event

Events:

SLAPPs against the media in Europe: is the EU response sufficient and what remains to be done?

22 Apr 2023 | Incontro | Perugia

The objective of the panel co-organized by ARTICLE 19 Europe and OBC Transeuropa, as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response Mechanism, is to highlight the phenomenon of SLAPPs at the national level and unpack the anti-SLAPP developments at the European level

MFRR Summit 2023: Press Freedom on the Line

29 Mar 2023 - 31 Mar 2023 | Summit | Online

Reflecting the MFRR’s core campaign areas, the online conference will host in-depth discussions on journalist safety, media capture, the rule of law, and SLAPPs. Hosted on Zoom for interactive participation, and simultaneously livestreamed on the MFRR YouTube channel, the summit will feature a range of panel discussions, live interviews, and keynote speeches with journalists, media freedom experts, policy-makers, and other stakeholders all working to defend press freedom in Europe

MFRR Summit 2022 - Boosting Press Freedom

22 Mar 2022 - 24 Mar 2022 | Conferenza | Online

La conferenza annuale del progetto Media Freedom Rapid Response, una tre giorni online aperta dalla vicepresidente della Commissione Europea e da un discorso di Roberto Saviano

MFRR Summit

17 Mar 2021 - 20 Mar 2021 | online

(Conferenza finale del primo anno di Media Freedom Rapid Response, con giornalisti, esperti, rappresentanti della Commissione Europea. Quattro giorni di eventi e dibattiti)

Media freedom is in jeopardy but there is no democracy in Europe without a free press in Europe

Between 17th and 20th March, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), which monitors and tracks media freedom violations, will bring together leading journalists from over 13 countries and representatives of press freedom organisations, unions and journalist bodies to discuss key threats and trends that underpin threats to media freedom across Europe

Chi ha paura dei giornalisti? Il report MFRR Italia

11 May 2022 | online | online

In occasione della pubblicazione del report sulla Missione Italia, il consorzio MFRR propone un momento di discussione sugli esiti della tre giorni di ricognizione tenuta dalla delegazione agli inizi di aprile

MFRR in Focus: Europe

4 Oct 2021 | WEBINAR | online

In questo appuntamento online, che avrà cadenza bimestrale, i partner del consorzio Media Freedom Rapid Response presentano le questioni più urgenti che minacciano il giornalismo in Europa, negli Stati membri e nei paesi candidati

MFRR in Focus 6

24 May 2022 | online

Per l'appuntamento mensile con il webinar di MFRR, OBCT ha realizzato un'intervista a una videomaker freelance di GVpress: Cristina Pantaleoni, incontrata a Roma durante la missione Italia di MFRR, racconta le difficoltà dei videogiornalisti durante gli scontri con manifestanti e polizia

MFRR in Focus 5

15 Mar 2022 | Webinar | Online

Il quinto episodio del webinar mensile di MFRR si concentra sulle questioni di genere nel giornalismo, dedicando una puntata alle donne, a una settimana dalla Giornata Internazionale dell'8 marzo / The 5th edition of the MFRR monthly webinar focuses on women journalists, a week after International Women's Day

Dossier

OBC Transeuropa -as member of the Media Freedom Rapid Response consortium- conducted a research on the needs of European journalists and the gaps in support mechanisms. From verbal harassment against media operators to groundless legal charges, what can be done to tackle these issues

2021

Authors: Maria Francesca Rita, Sofia Verza, Luisa Chiodi

Language: English

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Other OBCT projects on media freedom

The project European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) aims to protect press freedom and to promote transnational public debate on violations registered in the European Union, the Enlargement and the Eastern Partnership countries. In 2018, the project enters its fourth year of activity thanks to the renewed support by the European Commission.

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) brings together different European entities working in support of media freedom - the Media Foundation of the Sparkasse Leipzig , initiator of the ECPMF based in Leipzig; the two monitoring centres Oxygen for Information  (Rome) and South East Europe Media Organisation  (Vienna); Journalismfund.eu (Brussels); and the Institute of European Media Law  (Saarbrücken).

Press freedom and freedom of expression have a crucial role for the functioning of democratic societies. Despite this, in Europe journalists are threatened, censured or intimidated and this affects the citizens' right to information. OBC, together with SEEMO , Ossigeno Informazione , Professor Eugenia Siapera  (Dublin City University) and a broad network of media partners in 11 European countries, devoted a year to studying the challenges to press freedom and the needs of journalists in Italy, South East Europe and Turkey. The project "Safety Net for European Journalists. A Transnational Network Support for Media Freedom in Italy and South-east Europe" is co-financed by the European Union. 

 

 

 

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) started in March 2020 as a one-year pilot project co-funded by the European Commission.